Room to Grow
Some of the most formative moments of my faith journey happened in the back of crowded church vans, around late-night campfires, or in the midst of a packed worship hall filled with hundreds of other young people. I grew up in the Disciples of Christ denomination, and the Ohio Region…
Ash Wednesday, Thrown Alongside
Our Lent theme for this year is Thrown Alongside, which is a sort of literal translation of the word “parable.” In many ways, parables are stories, metaphors, images, and ideas that are placed (or thrown) alongside the stories, metaphors, and images of our own life. They are an invitation to…
Anabaptist History, Anabaptist Future
History was never my best subject in school, but I have been really enjoying teaching a series on Anabaptist History to the High School Sunday School class. What has really captured my imagination as I prepare and lead lessons on these stories is something that Joel alluded to in the…
Slowing Down, Being Present, Reflecting
Now that we have the busyness of the holiday season behind us but still plenty of Winter ahead of us, perhaps it is finally a good time to lean into the gift that these months can offer us: chances to slow down, to get cozy, and to reflect on where…
For Good
On Sunday I made an off-the-cuff joke about how I was sorry I had written my sermon before seeing the new Wicked movie because it meant I didn’t have time to make the movie the entire focus of the sermon as I leaned into my latest obsession. But I suppose…
Grief, Connection and a Tree’s Funeral
by Bethany Davey I’m mourning the death of a tree. Two weeks ago, one of our neighborhood trees unexpectedly fell victim to an impending gas line project. Though we had received numerous notices about the project—always slated for the ambiguous future—we had not been informed that trees would be removed….
Voting, Power, and Being the Church
The High School Sunday School class that I lead has been working through a series on Faith and Politics in the lead-up to and, now, fallout from the recent election. A few weeks ago, the class session was focused on exploring the differences and tensions between the “Kin(g)dom of God”…
A Mentor Mindset
I recently picked up a copy of David Yeager’s book, 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People after reading a review that piqued my interest. The sub-sub-title of the book is “A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation–And Making Your Own Life Easier.” I’m fairly skeptical of…
Ten Highlights
Ten Highlights I’m still glowing a bit from the very generous, meaningful, and tasty celebration you all threw for me a few weeks ago to mark my tenth year anniversary with CMC. Every job will have its ups and downs, but it truly has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for…
All the Feels (Part 2)
Last Sunday Joel made a very brief reference in his sermon to the recently released movie, Inside Out 2 as a way to illustrate that you could take in the second part of something (his two-part sermon) without the first, but you’d probably be missing out on some things. When…
